Carton stamping means



July 20, 1965 E. L. STEVENS CARTON STAMPING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28, 1963 INVENTOR. EDGAR L. STEVENS,

ATmRA/E y 1965 E. STEVENS 3,195,452

CARTON STAMPING MEANS Filed Aug. 28, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EDGAR L. STEVE N s JBTNJRA/i v July 20, 1965 Filed Aug. 28, 1963 E. L. STEVENS 3,195,452

CARTON STAMPING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WI WI:

INVENTGK EDGAR L STEVENS United States Patent 3,195,452 CARTON STAMPING MEANS Edgar L. Stevens, 3035 10th Parkway, Vero Beach, Fla. Filed Aug. 28, W63, Ser. No. 305,128 6 Claims. (CL I0142) This invention relates to printing or stamping devices and more particularly to a device especially adapted for stamping or marking cartons or other containers such as cartons of the type generally used for containing fruit, vegetables or many other products.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of this type which can be mounted on or located adjacent to a supporting table or other surfiace upon which a carton is rested and which presents a vertical wall for imprinting and which will be imprinted by the simple manual swing of an operating handle forming a part of the printing device.

It is an object of the invention to provide a printing device of this character which will be of a relatively simple and sturdy construction, and one by which a plurality of separably useable stamps or imprinters can be used together or selectively; which will be self-inking in that it is provided with suitable inking means, and which can if desired, be provided with counting means for indicating the number of cartons stamped.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the use of a pivotal or hinged carrier for a plurality of stamps or imprinters and which carrier is swingable to and from the vertical wall surface of the cart-on to be imprinted. The invention further contemplates the provision of movable inking means for the imprinters and of means for moving the inking means out of the path of travel of the imprinters as they are moved to imprinting position, and also of means to return said inking means to position in front of the imprinters as the same are moved back to their retracted or rest positions away from the carton.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a side el-eva-tional view of a stamping device or imprinter constructed according to the invention and with some of its parts shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the device as seen from the opposite side of FIG. 1, and with the parts shown in their inoperative or rest position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4--4 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow-s;

FIG. 5 is a rear view or" the device as seen from the right of FIG. 3;

' FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the device in the act of imprinting;

I FIG. 7 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 77 of FIG. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG, 8 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 99 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The improved stamping or imprinting device is one particularly adapted for stamping or marking printed matter upon the side wall or end of a carton or other container such as, for example, one for containing fruit, vegetables and many other articles. Such a carton, in

posit-ion for the application of the printing, is shown at "1 and it rests upon a supporting table or shelf 7 on which it may have been placed by conveying means or manually positioned thereon. The table is supported from the lloor by legs 6 or suitable framework. The mechanism for per-forming the printing or stamping operation can be fixed to the supporting table to locate it adjacent to the carton, and it is arranged in such a position that the carton 1 will present a side or wall partion 1a in a position to receive the imprint from the stamping apparatus.

The stamping or printing device, in the embodiment disclosed, includes an upper impression holder, stamp or imprinter 9 bearing suitable changeable lettering, numerals or other indicia, such as that indicating the operator or packers number, as shown at 20. At 10 is shown a central impression holder or stamp which might have the changeable lettering 21 to indicate the type of fruit, vegetable, etc. contained within the carton. At 11 is shown a third or lower impression holder or printer which can indicate, for example, the quantity of fruit or other goods contained within the carton. Each of the impression holders or imprinters 9 and 10 is secured on rods 22 slidably mounted through a hollow support or casing 23, and coil springs 24 (FIG. 8) are interposed between the back of each of the impression holders and a washer 25 disposed against the forward wall 26 of the casing 23. This arrangement is such that a springy or resilient mounting is provided for each of the imprinters 9 and 10 and as later explained herein, a means by which the imprinters can be moved to an inoperative or retracted position when desired.

The third impression holder or stamp 11, shown in detail in FIG. 9, consists of a roller or drum 35 rotative on an axle 36 mounted between plates 37, connected at r one end by a U-shaped yoke 38 One of the plates 37 is fastened to a bar or lever arm 15, to be described, so that a swinging movement of this bar toward the carton surface 1a will bring the impression members or imprinters 9, 10 and 1.1 in contact with the carton surface to thereby produce the desired imprinting on the same. The indicia borne by the impression members or imprinters is preferably changeable and that borne by the impression member or stamp 11 is very quickly alterable since such indicia has its characters mounted on a flexible belt 39 which passes around the roller or drum 35 and extends over the U-shaped member .or yoke 38 which serves as a backing for the belt 39, particularly during the printing operation.

The casing 23, in which the imprinters 9 and 10 are mounted is fixed to the bar 15 by screws 70 or equivalent fasteners, and said bar 15 constitutes an arm of a bellcrank lever which is pivoted at 17 to a bracket 8 mounted on the part 6 of the frame of the table 7. The second arm of the bell crank, shown at 30, extends through an aperture 24 in the support 6 and is biased upwardly by means of a coil spring 18 surrounding a rod 25 bearing against the underside of the table top 7. The lower end of this rod 25 is provided with a head or disk 26 forming 'a spring seat for the coil spring 18, the upper end of the spring 18 bearing against an angular bracket 29 engaging with and secured to the arm 30 as clearly seen in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6.

Inking pads for the stamps or impression members 9, 10 and 11 are shown respectively at 32 and 33 and 34, and the upper and lower inking pads 32 and 33 are carried on a radial extension of a sleeve 40 which is rotatable around a rod or post 41. The rod 41 extends through a slot 42 in a bracket 43 which extends transversely across and is attached to a pair of parallel bars, one of which is the arm or lever 15 and the other bar is that shown at 44 which is pivoted at one end as shown at 45, to the bracket 8. The last-mentioned bar, or that shown at 44, is joined Y the rod 41 at the lower end of the sleeve 46. v

By means of the spring 51, th'e sleeve 40 isnorina'lly in parallelrelation to the bar" or lever by means of the bracket 43, and at theend opposite to its pivot 45 t by a cross-piece 46. An operating handle 47 is provided at the upper end of the bar or lever 15; I At its lower end, the sleeve 40 has an angular extension or plate 48which carries the inking pad 34 for thelower impression member or stamping device 11. The device is so operati've that when 'the'stamps or imprinters 9, 1i) and 11 are swung from their retracted position, or position of rest as shown in FIG. 3, and wherein they are in contact with the respective inking pad-s 32,33 and 34-, these inking pads will be swung out of the path of travel of the imprinters 9,10 and 11' so thatuthe imprinters .may he movedinto contact with the wall 1a of the carton to apply 1 the markings thereon;

, oaaea grasps the handle 47 .and' swingsthe bar or lever 15 in the direction of the arrows 52, and asthis is done, the cross piece 46 .will contact the lug 50'and rotate the sleeve 40 around its vertical axis, thereby bringingthe inking pads 32, 33 and, 34 out of the path of travel of the stamps or imprinters 9, 10 and 11, which are then freeto come into contact with the wall' 1a of the" carton and apply the I, printing thereon. The "apparatus at this time is as shown in FIG. '6, and with the spring 18=compressedl Upon the To secure the required movement ofthe inking pads lug '54), normally disposed in the pathof swing of the cross member 46 by means'of a torsional spring-51 surrounding positioned so that the inking pads carried by it are di a Having thus described a single embodiment of vention, it is obvious that the same is.not;to be restricted posed in frontof theimpression members or imprinters '9, 1'0 and 1 1.. When the operating handle 47 is engaged'and l the lever 15 is swung toward the left as viewed in FIG. 3,

or in the direction of the arrows52, the cross piece 46 will contact .with the lug. 50 and rotate the sleeve 40 in opposition -to the torsion of spring 51and thus'swing-"the several inking pads out of the path of movement'of'the several stamps or imprinters'9, 1'0 and 11, allowing the same to contact-with the carton and apply the imprint thereon. When the bar15, whichis the carrier for the imprinters,:swings backwardly' o r'toward th e right as viewed in FIG. 3,.and which return movement is eiiected release of manual force on the handle 47, the spring 18 will tendto restore the bell-crank lever, of which the "bar 15 is a part, to its .former position by swinging it 'toward the right,:and as the bar nears its position of com- .plete retraction itiwillpermit the inking pads to be moved back into their operative'positions'in front of and into 'icontactwith' the surfaces of the imprinters, under the torsion of spring 5'1, acting on the sleeverttl.

' The device, is :simpleand effective in operation It requires merely a swing of the operating lever 15 for each impression, :so that it can be operated as fast as the car-' tons are presented to it tr'om a conveyor or else are manually placed in position for marking.

the inthereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope, of the annexed claims. t

' What I claim is:

-1. A marking devicefor cartons comprising a carton support "on which a carton restsand presentsa vertical wall for printing upon it, a manually-operated lever pivoted-at one end to the support, a plurality'of' spaced imprinters carriedby the lever andcaused to be brought against said wall ofv the. carton upon swing of the lever ,inyone direction, a fixed-verticalpost,-a sleeve extending by the action of the spring 18 acting on the arm 30, the

rotative return movement of the sleeve. will be halted by the contact of the lug with a stop member 53 provided on the head'54 of therod' or post 41, thus pos'itiohingthe inking pads in front of the imprintersor stamps.

around said post and rojtatively movable on "thesarne, *spaced inking pads carried by thev sleeve, a torsion spring operative onlthe sleeve to bias the same in a manner to position Qits inking. pads against the: imprinters'whe'n the .imprintersare positioned awayjrom' the wall of the carton, a radial projection'on one end of the sleeve, auprojection on-the' lever andsituated to impinge against-the pro- Means is provided by which either of thestarnps or irnprinters can be held out of printing position. For this purpose, there .is provided oneach of therods 22,{an L-' shapedp'late 55,-located between a head 56 on the rod .22, and a washer '57 hearing against the reariwall'of the casing 23. When the 'footportion 58' ot theplate extends beyond the; casing asshown in FIG; 8, the stamp or imprinter will be located: in the required positionl for imprintingwhen the handle 47 is swungin fa directiontoward the carton. By turning the I l-shaped plates'55 to" .the dotted line positions'of FIG. 5,to' bring the feet 58; thereof against the back wall of the'casing 23, th'e stamps Y jection on the sleeve to thereby rotativelymove the sleeve aroundthe post and causethe inking pads to be moved inopposition to the; forceof the spring but of the path of travel ofthe imprin-ters as the imprinters are movedin a -di1:CtlQIl' toward the carton by a swingingmovement of the, lever.

' 1 .-2."A marking device-as provided for in claim 1, where- "in stopmeans is providedto-limitthe swing of the sleeve ,under the force ofthe torsional spring andthereby locate the inking pads in'frontof the imprinters, means for resil -ientlymounting the'imprinters on the lever, means for I selectively retracting "the-imprinters from printingrpos'ior imprinters 9 and 10 will'be retracted ord'rawn back and.

held from contactwith' the carton. The stamp orimprinter shown at 11 can be'movedto an'inoperativepo'si- 1 ti'on'by swinging it bodilyaroundthe pivot 36 H 7 Connected tothe bars15 and 44' is a counter fitl having an operating button 61. The button 61 is actuated by merit of the device. eliminated, if desired.

7 From the foregoing, the operation of the improved stamping or. marking device will be apparent. A carton to be stamped isrested upon the table or other support- '7 and to which the carton may be brought by conveying or other means; and withthe end or side of the carton to be.

imprinted presented toward the stamping devicel The inoperative or rest positionof the device is shown in FIG. 3 wherein. it will-be n0ted thatthe stamps or inis spring finger 62 that is connected tofthe bracke't 43 and whereby the counter is actuated at eachf'staniping move- .The use of this counter may be tions, and onehof the imprinters having marking indicia ;borne' .by a beltf and a support 'Qver'which' the belt is adjustable, 1 V l J g 3. A marking device for cartons comprising, a support on which a carton is rested to present a vertical wall for imprinting, a bracket onthe support, a bell-crank lever ggpivoted on'the bracket, said bell-.crankjlever having one arm constituting-a hand lever'andcarrying a stamp holder,

i a pluralityof stamps resiliently mounted on the holder, an additional stampmounted on thelever below the holdenthe latter stamp including an, adjustable belt bear- .ingrnarking indicia a fixe'd'ver tical post having its lower end mounted:onfthebracket, a sleeve rotative on the post,

inkingpads carried by'the sleeve,:spr'ing meansencircling the post. and engagingthe sleeve and tending to hold itso that itsinkingpads. are disposed in front of all of the stamps, and interacting means on the sleeve and on @the lever. tor rotatively'.moving'thesleeve to cause the finking'bpads thereon to. be movedtroin in front of the v starnps when the stamp carryin'g leverlis swungin a direcprinters are located away from the carton ana re'i contact with the inking pads 32, and 34'; The operator 7 tion toward thefcarton surface to be-"irnprinted, the bell crank having asecond ,arrn, and spring means forbiasing said last-mentioned arm to urge the stamp-carrying arm in a direction away from the carton.

4. A marking device for cartons comprising, supporting means for a carton, a pivoted bell-crank lever mounted on a horizontal pivot and having a first arm constituting a hand lever, resiliently mounted imprinters carried by said arm, the bell-crank lever having a second arm, spring means for biasing said second arm in a manner to cause the first arm to have its imprinters normally disposed away from the carton, a pivoted bar extending substantially parallel to the first arm of the bell-crank lever and connected thereto, a fixedly-mounted vertical post, a sleeve fitted around the post and rotative thereon, at least one inking pad carried from the post, spring means for normally interposing the pad in the path of swing of the first arm of the bell-crank lever, a lug projecting from the sleeve, and a member carried by the bar for contacting said lug as the imprinters are moved toward the carton,

whereby said member will rotate the sleeve around the,

Cit

the housing and being spring-biased in a direction away from the housing to an advanced imprinting position, and means mounted around each of the stems by which any one of the imprinters can be retracted to a non-printing position in opposition to the bias of its spring.

6. A marking device as provided for in claim 5, wherein the means for retracting any one of the imprinters consists of a plate rotative around the stem of the imprinter, said plate having an offset end for disposition against the housing to thereby retract the imprinter.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,034,096 7/12 Fischer 101-98 1,148,535 8/15 Rearick 101-88 1,248,184 11/17 Silverstene 101-334 1,291,026 1/19 Koehler 101-333 X 1,838,153 12/31 Phelps 101-35 2,040,524 5/36 Mumma et a1 101-35 2,113,867 4/38 Weymouth 10135 2,119,053 5/38 Paxton 10135 2,927,527 3/60 Bradford 101-43 WILLIAM B. PENN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MARKING DEVICE FOR CARTONS COMPRISING A CARTON SUPPORT ON WHICH A CARTON RESTS AND PRESENTS VERTICAL WALL FOR PRINTING UPON IT, A MANUALLY-OPERATED LEVER PIVOTED AT ONE END TO THE SUPPORT, A PLURALITY OF SPACED IMPRINTERS CARRIED BY THE LEVER AND CAUSED TO BE BROUGHT AGAINST SAID WALL OF THE CARTON UPON SWING OF THE LEVER IN ONE DIRECTION, A FIXED VERTICAL POST, A SLEEVE EXTENDING AROUND SAID POST AND ROTATIVELY MOVABLE ON THE SAME SPACED INKING PADS CARRIED BY THE SLEEVE, A TORSION SPRING OPERATIVE ON THE SLEEVE TO BIAS THE SAME IN A MANNER TO POSITION ITS INKING PADS AGAINST THE IMPRINTERS WHEN THE IMPRINTERS ARE POSITIONED AWAY FROM THE WALL OF THE CARTON, A RADIAL PROJECTION ON ONE END OF THE SLEEVE, A PROJECTION ON THE LEVER AND SITUATED TO IMPINGE AGAINST THE PROJECTION ON THE SLEEVE TO THEREBY ROTATIVELY MOVE THE SLEEVE AROUND THE POST AND CAUSE THE INKING PADS TO BE MOVED IN OPPOSITION TO THE FORCE OF THE SPRING OUT OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE IMPRINTERS AS THE IMPRINTERS ARE MOVED IN A DIRECTION TOWARD THE CARTON BY A SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE LEVER. 